Sacramento police issued 233 tickets for jaywalking last year in the police district that includes North Sacramento and Del Paso Heights – nearly triple the number handed out in the entire rest of the city.

Black people received 111 of those citations, nearly 50 percent, but account for about 15 percent of the area’s residents.

The equivalent of 12 citations were issued to every 1,000 black residents in District 2 last year, more than 5 times the issuance rate for non-blacks, city and census figures show.

The citation numbers, released in response to a request by The Bee, drew outrage from public officials and community members concerned that residents of the largely black and Latino area are unfairly targeted by law enforcement.

“It’s absurd and it’s something that has to be looked at,” said Councilman Allen Warren, who represents the area where the citations were issued. “That is why there is such concern and anger within District 2, because they are being stopped disproportionately and with no reason.”

On Monday, a jaywalking case in Del Paso Heights made headlines when Nandi Cain, 24, was stopped and repeatedly punched by an officer after allegedly walking illegally across Grand Avenue near Cypress Street on his way home from work. Cain questioned the officer over the reasonableness of the jaywalking allegation and initially walked away as the officer ordered him to stop. Video of the event shot by a bystander went viral by Monday night, prompting the department to release further dashcam video that showed the officer punching Cain about 18 times.